Shoulder bump bushing die vs. body die

I have used neither, and my brass is due to have the shoulder bumped back after repeated NS with a bushing die.
I like the "do both operations at one time" approach of the bushing shoulder die, and the fact that it doesnt touch the case body's diameter. But can it be used as a replacement for the body die, or will the body eventually get too tight, and have to be FL sized anyhow?
On the flipside, the body die will require NS and using the body die to size (processing about 500 at a time), and will continually squeeze the case body down again. I don't know if I want/need that.
After all that rambling, I guess I'm asking:
For those of you who use shoulder bump dies, do you ever have to FL size? Thanks!-

It does touch the body diameter. It sizes the base and the shoulder just like the body die or a FL die, and to the same degree. What some people do is lap them using fired cases to get them to shoulder bump only. There is a guy out there who will mod your die for something like $30, but I forgot his name.

Walkalong

December 8, 2012, 12:19 PM

The Forster Bump Bushing die does not size the body. I just bought one to try with .308. It does indeed work to bump the shoulder. I suspect if one tried to bump the shoulder too far it would bulge the shoulder, but since the whole idea is to barely bump the shoulder, that should be a moot point.

I suspect the brass will still need to have the body sized a bit at some time after a few firings. I may end up with a body die to go with it as well.

I also bought a Redding Type S FL bushing die for .308.

I'll be doing a little experimenting to see what the rifle likes, if it likes either method equally well, or prefers one over the other, how cases react after numerous firing, etc.

Up until now I have been using a standard FL Redding die set with a carbide expander ball to load hunting and plinking ammo.

capreppy

December 8, 2012, 10:01 PM

Sub'd.

I had a similar question in my thread, but don't think I phrased it correctly. Although a body die does come with a Competition set, the thought of running hundreds of pieces through both a bushing neck sizer and then the body die (or vice versa) kills me.

I, like you, want to do one pass when I do have to process the shoulders and body on my brass. I do like the idea of a bushing FL sizer.

With that being said, why wouldn't you want to size the body?

918v

December 9, 2012, 10:41 AM

Because sizing the body removes all the benefits of having a fireformed case.

Fatelvis

December 9, 2012, 10:53 AM

why wouldn't you want to size the body
I'm a firm believer that accuracy is improved when the cartridge in the chamber is held in line with the bore. When the body is slightly blown out, closer to the dimensions of your chamber, it holds the bullet more accurately in line with the bore's axis. I always felt I've gotten better accuracy while neck sizing. Until recently I've sized the entire neck, but now I'm only resizing the top 2/3 of the neck. The idea of this is along the same lines as the blown out body, it theoretically helps to align the bullet with the axis of the bore. Any accuracy gain is still to be determined.

Walkalong

December 9, 2012, 06:50 PM

resizing the top 2/3 of the neck. The idea of this is along the same lines as the blown out body, it theoretically helps to align the bullet with the axis of the bore.Unless the case head is a sloppy enough fit the cartridge is hanging down. One reason "match" chambers tend to be tight.

And of course we are assuming the chamber is round when we use neck sized brass. Some people index their brass.